Cellphone Falls Into Icy River, Deadly End as 3 Go In After It

One young man is dead, and a woman is missing and presumed dead after both fell into the freezing Chicago River trying to find a dropped cellphone early this morning.

By Michael Orr

Jan 13, 2014 1:37pm

One young man is dead, and a woman is missing and presumed dead after both fell into the freezing Chicago River trying to find a dropped cellphone early this morning.

A third man, who also ended up in the river, remains hospitalized.

Chicago Police say a 26-year-old man dropped his phone into the water, and slipped along the icy riverwalk trying to retrieve it.

A 23-year-old man and a 21-year-old woman, who were with the man, entered the water trying to help him. Witnesses called 911, and rescue crews pulled the two men out of the water but have not been able to find the woman.

The 26-year-old from St. Paul, Minn., died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about 3:14 a.m.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office hasn’t released the man’s name because his family has not yet been notified of his death. The two other victims’ names have not been released either.

Police divers are still searching for the body of the woman, who fell into water a few minutes after midnight. Authorities presume she is dead, and turned the rescue effort into a recovery operation around 1:30 a.m. Police found the woman’s purse near where she likely went into the water.

The 23-year-old is in stable condition at Presence Saint Joseph Hospital, according to authorities.

The two men pulled from the water were initially taken to area hospitals in serious-to-critical condition.

“We continued efforts for over an hour rotating divers, searches for the final victim were unsuccessful,” Chicago Fire Department Chief Linda Parsons told ABC’s Chicago station WLS. “Now the scene is turned over to Chicago police for recovery. Our operation is terminated at this point.”

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